Championship football club Swansea City has agreed a deal for local trading company Swansea.com to take on naming rights to its Liberty Stadium home ground.
The 10-year deal officially rebrands the venue, which also serves as the home of the Ospreys rugby union club, as the Swansea.com Stadium with immediate effect. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but Swansea said that a “seven-figure” sum would be guaranteed to the club.
Swansea.com replaces Liberty Properties as the stadium’s naming-rights partner. Liberty had sponsored the stadium since shortly after it opened in 2005.
Swansea.com has several investments across sectors including travel, hospitality, real estate and sports. A number of the company’s businesses have been involved with Swansea City over the years, initially through the sponsorship of a stand at the club’s old Vetch Field ground.
Its businesses then held front-of-shirt sponsorship rights from 2001 to 2009, with the company itself holding the rights from 2007 to 2009.
City said it has been “extensively” looking into a new naming-rights partner since it agreed a deal with Swansea Council to take on a 37-year lease for the stadium in February 2018 as part of plans to grow the club commercially.
Swansea said its relegation from the Premier League and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has “added to the challenge” of finding the right brand to align with the club and the stadium.
According to the club, a number of “global businesses” were among the interested parties for naming rights to the stadium, including those within the travel, gambling and cryptocurrency sectors.
Swansea has however opted to award naming rights to a local company, continuing a trend which has seen the club sign a shirt sponsorship deal with Swansea University.
Julian Winter, chief executive of Swansea City, said: “I am proud of the work we have done as a club when it comes to focusing on our local area and community.
“This football club prides itself on its place at the heart of the community it represents, and adding to our portfolio of local business sponsors and partners is another indicator of our commitment to our city. We welcome Swansea.com as our new naming rights partner, and we look forward to a successful period – on and off the pitch – over the next 10 years.”
Jacob Hughes, group managing director at Swansea.com, added: “It is an honour and privilege to continue our investment into Swansea City with this 10-year commitment through the stadium naming rights.
“With many of our businesses being based in Swansea, employing local people, we feel the opportunity to further our partnership with the club is amazing. Over the last 20 years the business has worked hard to invest in the city and its surrounding areas.”
Image: Swansea City
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